UFC 155 results: Max Holloway edges Leonard Garcia via split decision

LAS VEGAS – Max Holloway’s technique prevailed over Leonard Garcia’s and won him a split decision.

But like anyone who’s faced off with the hard-swinging vet, Holloway knew he’d been in a fight.

The featherweight bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC 155 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It streamed on Facebook ahead of additional prelims on FX and a main card on pay-per-view.

Hollaway opened the fight the busier man with all manner of kicks. Garcia waited patiently to respond, meanwhile, occasionally letting go a two-punch combination or kick.

Holloway landed with a spinning back kick, and Garcia scored with his own punch. But in the next significant exchange, it was Hollaway who dropped Garcia with a punch.

Smiling, Garcia got back in the game but, surprisingly, did not throw caution to the wind. Holloway, though, demonstrated his control of exchanges by keeping his opponent at the end of his strikes. Midway through the round, he held an edge in total strikes landed.

But Garcia would eventually find his way in with a big right hand that wobbled Holloway. The fight threatened to turn into a slugfest, but both fighters pulled back the reins.

Garcia, though, found success pressing the action, landing big shots in close with a collar-tie, and Holloway was forced on the defensive.

The second frame saw Holloway resume the attack that scored points early in the first. Garcia continued to press in with jabs, but it was Holloway who countered with a two-punch combo one minute into the round. The two continued to clash in center cage, but neither landed a big shot. Garcia broke the rhythm by catching a kick and fending off a choke attempt to briefly put the fight on the mat.

After escaping to his feet, Holloway continued to snipe and score. Just a little bit faster in exchanges, he continued to frustrate Garcia, whose coach, Greg Jackson, urged him to stay composed. As the round closed, however, Garcia’s technique degraded into slugging as Holloway attempted to fend him off. The younger fighter mostly did, but he took some big shots in the process and took a longing glance at the clock.

The two measured their standup in the third, with Garcia attempting to put together combinations and Holloway finding gaps to score. As per usual, Garcia continued to press no matter what shots he took, but Holloway landed the cleaner shots. Garcia, though, was turning it into a slugfest, and the crowd roared its approval.

Finally, Garcia shot for a takedown and secured half-guard with two minutes to work. Holloway got back to his feet, and the two stood and traded. Again, Holloway was the more accurate man, but with every combination, Garcia let him know he was in a fight.

With 30 seconds left, the two were running on fumes.

Garcia ended the fight with a near-slam of Holloway after catching a kick, and the two celebrated a hard-fought battle.

On a scoreboard of strikes compiled by official UFC stat provider FightMetric, Garcia beat Holloway in all categories with the exception of head strikes.

But when final tallies were added, Holloway prevailed with two scores of 29-28 to Garcia’s 29-28.

“I definitely believe I won the fight,” Holloway said. “I’m tired of wrestlers getting victories that way. They get takedowns and do nothing with it, and somehow they still get points for that, so I feel very vindicated with this win. Leonard is a tough guy, though – no doubt about that. He hits hard and he shot in on me quite a bit in this fight, but we had a good game plan and I was able to leave with the win.”

“I think I did enough to win and it was a good fight, but I can’t let it go to the judges,” Garcia said. “I’ve been fighting long enough to know that. Max is a skilled fighter, but I feel I was able to match him or be better than him in every part of the game. I feel I got the most takedowns, I had better octagon control and he doesn’t hit hard, so I was able to stand in there with him and I think that should have been enough to get the victory.”

Holloway (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who welcomed a rematch with Garcia, improves to three straight wins in the UFC. Garcia (15-10-1 MMA, 2-6 UFC) has now lost four straight, though his fighting style may save him yet another time from a UFC release.

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